Almost everything we own has some kind of expiration date. A huge part of getting and staying organized is to pitch expired stuff, thereby reducing your possessions on a regular basis. However, there are expiration dates that are hard and fast and others that can be (a little or a lot) relaxed. For some things, an expiration date is a matter of taste, completely objective.

Food in the refrigerator is the first place I’d start with an expiration date purge and often it’s not a printed date but an obvious sign or small of decay that inspires what I call an “easy out.” Food in the freezer is a bit harder to judge, but signs of freezer burn or discoloration say, “time to go.”

In the pantry, most expiration dates are clearly printed. Many sources on food safety tell us that it is perfectly safe to eat expired canned or pickled food (within a reasonable amount of time), but that it will not be at the peak of taste and texture that the brand prefers you to experience. Any rust showing up on cans is an obvious reason to pitch, expired or not. I think that expiration dates on cans and jars are already fairly generous, so if you haven’t eaten it and it is six months past the expiration date, get rid of it.

In the medicine cabinet, you probably want to be stricter about pitching once an item reaches the expiration date. The more crucial the efficacy of the product, the more discerning I’d recommend you be. Use your judgment and your physician’s guidelines, even for over the counter stuff.

Make-up is trickier because it is often not marked with an expiration date (unlike sunscreen and some moisturizers). One idea is to use a labeler or a sharpie and mark the date you purchased the product, that way you can follow basic cosmetic guidelines and know when it’s time to drop something in the trash. Typically, liquid items should last six months to a year, mascara a criminally short three months. Lipsticks, eyeshadows, pencil items and pressed powder or blush, can last two years.

Your accountant can tell you when financial paperwork is no longer necessary to keep—its expiration date—so that’s another easy out. Things that are tough to judge are household items and clothing.

Damaged items are basically expired. I was tempted to keep using a casserole dish that had a hairline crack, but imagining what would happen if the oven heat caused it to completely break when it was full of scalding food made my mind up for me. Same for cracked or chipped glassware—why risk cutting your self? And please don’t donate these things and add to the glut of junk that charities receive every day. Damaged items are trash.

With regards to clothing, why wear something with holes, pilling or stains? Something pilled might be ok to donate, but things holes and stains should go right into the waste basket. The exception might be something expensive and loved that could be cleaned or repaired. Note I said expensive AND loved. If it’s expensive but you don’t like or wear it, why pay to clean or repair it? And if it was cheap but is loved, it may not be worth it to clean and repair.

Furniture never really expires, but styles come and go. If you have offered stuff for sale on line or had a garage sale and have not had any interest, the item is probably expired and it’s not likely the style will come back around in your lifetime—the space you gain by getting rid of it never goes out of fashion and is very valuable. Space has no expiration date, and the more space you have the easier it is to stay organized.